Pennsylvania

What does it take to be individually liable for discrimination? A lot.

January 16, 2018 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image Credit: Photofunia.com

Most discrimination lawsuits involve a single, individual plaintiff and, on the other side of the “v,” a company as the sole defendant. But, sometimes, that plaintiff will name additional individual defendants too, such as a manager, supervisor, or even someone from Human Resources.

When that happens, what are the chances that the individual will end up legally responsible with the plaintiff prevails at trial?

I love the smell of Sour Patch Kids and the False Claims Act

January 4, 2018 | by Eric B. Meyer

You know, I don’t think we’ve ever discussed the False Claims Act here at The Employer Handbook.

I don’t think we’ve discussed crowded clown cars either. And, while clowns may pique more interest, alas, this is an employment-law blog. So, I suppose we’ll enjoy our first taste of FCA together.

Kinda tastes like Sour Patch Kids. Continue reading

LGBT bias costs one employer the maximum amount allowed by law

November 27, 2017 | by Eric B. Meyer

Hi there.

Did you have a nice Thanksgiving?

Notwithstanding Thursday’s feast, I rallied hard over the weekend. Indeed, I needed my energy up to check some boxes on my older daughter’s Christmas list. (She claims that number one is commonplace in Canada. I’m not so sure).

But, I’m taking a break from the shopping to wax employment law for you. Today, I want to get into LGBT rights at work. Continue reading

New bill would ban confidential settlements of sexual harassment claims in Pennsylvania

November 17, 2017 | by Eric B. Meyer

One of your supervisors has just been accused of sexual harassment. Rather than spend the money to litigate the case, your company decides to settle. Let’s go through the standard provisions:

Settlement payment
General release
Non-admission
Mutual non-disparagement
Mutual confidentiality

Ah, not so fast on that last one if your business is in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Continue reading

VP of HR fired for a Trump tweet still manages to collect unemployment benefits

November 14, 2017 | by Eric B. Meyer

Back in 2016, Kathleen M. Jungclaus was the full-time Vice President of Human Resources for a Pennsylvania continuing care retirement community. She had worked for the company since 2007.

On July 24, 2016, Ms. Junclaus went on her personal Twitter page and tweeted: “@realDonaldTrump I am the VP of HR in a comp outside of philly [sic] an informal survey of our employees shows 100% AA employees voting Trump!”

A little over two months later, Ms. Junclaus found herself unemployed and applying for benefits. Continue reading

Take a page out of this employer’s playbook for dealing with FMLA and absenteeism.

November 8, 2017 | by Eric B. Meyer

When a company has an employee who is approved for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act, sometimes that employer get nervous about parsing FMLA-qualifying absences from other sick days that have nothing whatsoever to do with the employee’s underlying serious health condition. The end result is an employee who gets not only FMLA leave but extra leave that exceeds his or her bank of time off.

Those employers, well, they’re shook!

Let’s see how one employer handled it the right way.
Continue reading

The”Mark of the Devil” and the hellish cost to defend employment litigation

November 1, 2017 | by Eric B. Meyer

Pixabay.com

On the day before Halloween, a Pennsylvania federal court (here) denied an employer’s attempt to have a religious-accommodation case dismissed early.

This isn’t your run of the mill religious-accommodation case. Continue reading

Court politely tells union where to stick its request to reinstate a member accused of sexual harassment.

October 18, 2017 | by Eric B. Meyer

***pops open can of Haterade***
Continue reading

FREE LIVE EVENT: “Preparing for 2018: What Employers Need to Know”

October 5, 2017 | by Eric B. Meyer

Click here if you are having trouble viewing the invitation.This event has been approved for 1.25 SHRM HR credits. Approvals for HRCI and CLE to follow shortly.

Click here to RSVP.

In the Third Circuit, willful FLSA violations are as common as spotting a unicorn sliding down a rainbow into a leprechaun’s pot of gold as pigs fly by.

September 21, 2017 | by Eric B. Meyer

Giphy.com

If an employer violates the Fair Labor Standards Act, like by not paying overtime, the plaintiff(s) can generally recover two years of unpaid overtime for the two years preceding the lawsuit. Those plaintiffs may also recover liquidated damages equal to the unpaid overtime.

So, if an employer owes $100 in overtime, the total bill with liquidated damages would be $200.

However, if the employer willfully violates the FLSA, then the damages increase. That’s because the lookback period for a willful violation becomes three years.

But, what makes a violation willful? Yesterday, the Third Circuit helped answer that question. Continue reading